JASON FARMER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER RailRiders manager Dave Miley, right, gives a speech after he was inducted to the International League’s Hall of Fame as IL president Randy Mobley listens.

MOOSIC — Twenty-seven years ago, a legendary farm director asked a young ballplayer to do the most difficult thing a ballplayer ever has to do.

Stop playing. Start coaching.

Dave Miley told Sheldon “Chief” Bender he wanted to wait. Bender, the farm director who built the Big Red Machine from the ground up two decades earlier, asked him to take a month to consider.

Hitting .182 in Double-A, Miley saw the writing on the wall. He once was a heralded prospect, but like too many around him, injuries had taken a toll. Other young catchers in the organization began to pass him by. He still thought he could play, but he wanted to make an aimpact. He had a more definitive answer when Bender came back.

“I decided it was time,” Miley said. “It was probably the best decision I made.”

Almost three decades later, the proof of that was handed to him in statue form. On Saturday, before his RailRiders played Toledo and during an emotional pregame ceremony in front of the pitchers mound at PNC Field, International League president Randy Mobley formally inducted Miley into the league’s Hall of Fame. He was presented with the prestigious Curtain Call trophy, which only members of the International League Hall possess.

Miley learned he’d be inducted in January, and in the hustle and bustle of a baseball season, he said he could hardly believe the induction day had already arrived. In fact, he insisted he hadn’t had much time to even think about it until after he posted his lineup for Saturday night’s game.

“For the day to be here now, it’s obviously quite an honor,” Miley said. “A lot of friends and family are in town for it. It will be good to get it over with too, because we can get back to the game of baseball. But all the players that I’ve managed over the years, all the coaches and the coordinators ... everybody thinks it’s always just the manager. We all know a little better than that. But I’m excited to go in as a New York Yankee and as a RailRider.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman drove in from New York to be part of the ceremony, during which he spoke glowingly about Miley’s contributions to the organization since he became its Triple-A manager for the 2006 season.

“He is such a special person. He is an amazing baseball man,” Cashman said. “He has the Midas touch, whereas whatever he seems to touch turns into a much better winning situation than maybe you would expect. But he really has a big heart. He is always doing the right thing by everybody. Both in my department and with the players and the player development side of things, I know he does that spectacularly.

“He’s always willing to do anything and everything. He’s great with the affiliate. He’s great with the fans. He’s great with our players. He’s someone you can really trust is going to do the right thing always.”

A line of family members watched from chairs situated along the third-base line, including Miley’s wife, Pooh, and his parents. On one occasion, they gave a standing ovation.

This has been a family affair for Miley, who admitted he was a bit nervous when he told his father the news, because it wasn’t going to be released publicly for a few weeks. He’s terrible at keeping secrets, Miley admits.

“Me and my wife were joking around. When (the International League) brought (the Hall of Fame) back in ’08, all the members they were putting in had unfortunately passed away,” Miley said. “I told Pooh, ‘Well, if it ever does happen, you may have to go up there and accept the award for me.’ To be still managing and getting this award really makes it special for me.”

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